Posts in "Brian Beyer"

Iran, although not an Arab nation, is not immune to the waves of anti-government protests sweeping the Middle East. Scores of Iranians took to the streets today in an act of defiance against the Islamic Republic’s theocratic government. However, government thugs were out in full force as well. Writes Farnaz Fassihi:

[A]s demonstrators’ ranks swelled, police and antiriot forces lined the streets, ordered shops to shut down and responded at times with force, according to witnesses and opposition websites, in a repeat of the official crackdown that helped snuff out months of spirited opposition rallies a year ago.

This comes only days after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized the American-backed Mubarak regime for cracking down on protesters. Ahmadinejad called the protesters heroes -- and rightfully so. However, he only considered them so because he saw them as part of an “Islamic Awakening.” Unfortunately for him, the Iranian protests are fiercely secular as the Iranian people have seen the real consequences of living under a theocratic regime. Don’t tell him that.

Over at Zero Hedge, a phenomenal blog on all things financial, Tyler Durden, the site's anonymous owner and manager, sees some disturbing writing on the wall. Consumer credit is starting to increase again. With more and more money starting to change hands, prices are dangerously close to going through the roof:

He concludes, "If that is the case, we may be far closer to Bernanke losing control of the trillions in excess reserves (and a surge in "velocity" or however one calls this archaic construct) than we had expected previously."

The Obama Administration has already caved in on its earlier calls for immediate reform from the Mubarak Regime. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, said of the appointment of Omar Suleiman as vice president and other political developments that “We have to send a consistent message supporting the orderly transition that has begun.”The transition sure is “orderly” as it is being passed from Mubarak to his inner circle. If the will of the people was actually respected, the transition would not be nearly as smooth or orderly as those closest with Mubarak would fight tooth and nail to give up their power to someone outside of the NDP and Mubarak’s inner circle.

Suleiman, the first-ever vice president under Mubarak, is a member of the club of thugs. Suleiman was the director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID) from 1993-2011. The EGID is one of the most feared intelligence agencies in the world, and Suleiman was ranked as the most important intelligence chief in the Middle East. Suleiman was instrumental in the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program in Egypt. It is actually quite frightening how much dirty work Suleiman has done for America. As part of the rendition program, Suleiman was responsible for extracting a false confession from Ibn Sheikh al-Libi about the nonexistent connections between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. His “confession” would later become a key piece of evidence used by the Bush Administration to thrust America into war with Iraq.

However, before Mrs. Clinton should continue to lecture on the values of a free press, she ought to apologize for past American crimes. During the first several months of the Iraq War, Al Jazeera was, and remains, a deeply polarized news outlet. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld characterized what the station does as “vicious, inaccurate, and inexcusable.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once gave a speech entitled "Fighting Terrorism" at Ashland University. Little did "Bibi" know how relevant his words would be today. His speech was based off of Immanuel Kant's essay Perpetual Peace. Right off the bat, Netanyahu said:

He [Kant] said peace with democracies is automatic and it is self-sustaining. You need to do nothing to achieve it or to keep it. Democracies reflect the will of the majority, and most people do not want to go to war, and they do not want their children to die on battlefields. Democracies automatically tend toward peace.

If Netanyahu is such a firm believer in Kantian peace, then why are he and the Israeli government so nervous about Egyptians overthrowing their ruthless dictator of 30 years, Hosni Mubarak?

Tea Party "favorite" John "Could you pass me the Kleenex" Boehner has already strayed from the fiscal conservatism that he loves to lecture the American public on. When asked about Congress not raising the debt limit, Boehner responded, "That would be a financial disaster not only for our country, but for the worldwide economy...Remember, the American people on Election Day said we want to cut spending and we want to create jobs. You can't create jobs if you default on the federal debt."

Except who said anything about defaulting on the national debt? Refusal to raise the debt ceiling would not result in a default. If the debt ceiling is not raised - something which seems out of the question as of now - the Treasury would have to pay off debt obligations and interest before it could use that money for other things (this would, however, be limited to discretionary spending). So, whatever money is leftover after servicing the debt could be used by the government. This would force the government to make the drastic cuts that the Tea Party politicians promised to make.

In a widely-watched and closely-monitored vote, it appears that South Sudan will secede. Voter turnout rates and votes for separation have arguably made the vote one of the largest landslides in history, and "An Associated Press review of results at 10 sites in the south's capital of Juba found a 95 per cent turnout in which 96 per cent were in support of secession. The remaining three per cent were for unity and the rest were invalid."

North Sudan is predominantly Muslim while the south is made up of Christians and animists. In fact, it was the clash of the cultures that made secession very enticing. The South had become increasingly concerned about the fundamentalist strain of Islam popular in the North. In addition, the Muslims and non-Muslims have fought bloody battles many times before. However, the cultural difference was not the only reason for secession. South Sudan is incredibly rich in oil, containing 80% of Sudan's oil. From an economic perspective, this was a no-brainer for the South Sudanese.

For 23 years, Tunisia was ruled by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Considered to be an authoritarian dictator, his way of "appeasing" the people did not last forever. Tunisia's state-run economy is currently suffering from high inflation and unemployment. As a result, Mohammed Bousazizi, a 26 year old, unemployed college graduate, set himself on fire in the town of Sidi Bouzid. His actions caused further social unrest that spread like wildfire. Ben Ali then fled the country to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, his safe passage guaranteed by the Saudi royals, fellow members of the Arab World Thug Club. While Ali's successor, Mohammed Ghannouchi, is a member of Ali's inner circle (he is the prime minister), many are hopeful that this is the beginning of a revolution that will free their country.

The freedom movement is not merely an American one. It is sweeping the world one country at a time. In this case, a brutal and dictatorial Middle Eastern regime, once thought as untouchable, was brought to its knees.

During a presidential debate in 2007, Ron Paul was derided for saying that 9/11 was the result of American foreign policy.

In "It's the Occupation, Stupid," Robert A. Pape argues (with documentation of every single suicide bombing) that suicide bombings do not occur because of hatred of American values. Rather, they are overwhelmingly motivated by American occupation of Middle Eastern lands.

He writes:

New research provides strong evidence that suicide terrorism such as that of 9/11 is particularly sensitive to foreign military occupation, and not Islamic fundamentalism or any ideology independent of this crucial circumstance. Although this pattern began to emerge in the 1980s and 1990s, a wealth of new data presents a powerful picture.